Republican lawmaker who voted impeachment urges colleagues to tell their constituents the truth
Evidence uncovered so far, including the weapons and tactics seen on surveillance video, suggests a level of planning that has led investigators to believe the attack was not just a protest that got out of hand, said a federal law enforcement official.
Among the evidence the FBI is examining are indications that some attendees at the Trump rally at the Ellipse, outside the White House, left the event earlier, possibly to retrieve items from use for the Capitol Assault.
A team of investigators and prosecutors are focusing on the command and control aspect of the attack, examining travel and communications records to determine if they may constitute a case similar to a terrorism investigation, the official said.
The belief, at the start of the investigation, will require a thorough investigation.
The presence of prosecutors and corruption officers is in part due to their expertise in financial investigations.
“We are tracking the money,” the official said.
As of Wednesday morning, the FBI reported that it had received more than 126,000 digital tips from the public regarding the attack on Capitol Hill – more than three times the number of tips received on Monday.
Among the thousands of tips the FBI received, some appeared to show members of Congress with people who subsequently showed up at the Capitol Riot, two law enforcement officials said. This does not mean that members of Congress and staff are under investigation, but the FBI is verifying the veracity of the claims, officials said.
At least some of the arrests already made are part of a strategy used in counterterrorism investigations, to find even a minimal charge and try to remove a person of concern from the streets. This helps mitigate the possible threat amid concerns about possible attacks on the inauguration, officials say.
